I was lucky enough to be invited to visit and explore Ningxia, China last month by Chinese Tourism and Asia Travel.
Ningxia is also known as the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region and is located in the northwest part of the People’s Republic of China. Twenty percent of China’s Hui population lives in Ningxia and it is one of the 56 officially recognized nationalities of China.
I was not aware of Ningxia’s existence until last month.
I got invited a week before the event. Good thing, I got all my documents sorted out just before the Islamic New Year in UAE as it is an official holiday and the Chinese Embassy doesn’t work on that day. I applied for visa express and it only took 2 days to obtain the Chinese visa. I paid around AED 470.
I didn’t have any expectations of Ningxia. I tried to look it up on Instagram but I didn’t find any proper Instagram post of Ningxia. So, I head on over to the airport and hoped for the best.
I love adventure and exploring new places, pushing boundaries and flying to somewhere I have never heard of or saw before will be a good sign!
Boarded the Emirates EK326 to Yinchuan, Ningxia. Btw, this trip wouldn’t be possible without Emirates Airlines. They just recently launched their direct flight to Ningxia, China.
I have met Kit from Asia Travel, who picked us up at the airport and the super cool travel and lifestyle bloggers and photographers (@charleslibanjr, @travell1ngboots, @tauyanm, @najlakaddour, and @eothman).
We arrived Yinchuan around 5-ish pm. We checked in at Xifujing Hotel , met the hotel staff and Hallie, Kit’s colleague. I did a short Instagram Live to let my followers know about the hotel and the trip I was in. I had a food coma after stuffing my face with 19 super delicious Chinese dishes, all halal, from Xifujing Hotel. I forgot to say thank you to the chef.
My favourite is a dessert with Durian:Â 
I told Hallie and Kit that I have never eaten so much in my life and that all the dishes we had were all super yummy and guilt free, which made me eat more. have visited several tourists attraction in Ningxia.
For 5 days, we have visited several tourists attraction in Ningxia and what really caught my interest was the people so I decided to do a small project called Humans of Ningxia. Here are some of the portraits I took.
We have visited a Hui family and taught us how to make a halal snack and how to prepare and drink ba bao tea.
I went to Ningxia without any knowledge or clue about what to happen and what to expect and returned to Dubai as a storyteller armed with full of experiences, memories, photos and videos and new friends.
I will post another blog about Ningxia – the hotels, tourists attraction and what not so you will have an idea where to stay and where to go, so stay tuned for that.
DEBBIE FORTES 
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